Dumping control for scrapers



July 17, 1951 7 K. E. REISCHL 2,560,597

DUMPING CONTROL FOR SCRAPERS Filed April 5, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 a INVENTOR,

A TTORNFY July 17, 1951 RE|SHL 2,560,597

DUMPING CONTROL FOR SCRAPERS Filed April 5, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Arrow/m:

J y 1951 K. E. REISCHL 2,550,597-

nungpmc. CONTROL FOR SCRAPERS Filed April 5, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Kil Km YIIIIIII/IIIIIIIIIIIII INVENTOR,

Patented July 1?, 195i DUMPING CONTROL FOR SCRAPERS Karl E. Reischl, South Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to Bucyrus-Erie Company, South Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Delaware Application April 3, 1947, Serial No. 739,061

1 Claim. 1

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in wheeled scrapers of the general type shown and described in U. S. Patent No. 2,321,410, granted June 8, 1943, to George W. Mork et al., to which patent reference is hereby made, inasmuch as this present invention represents an improvement thereon.

In scrapers of that type, the scraper fills and dumps at its front end.

The main f ame of such a scraper is pivoted at either its front end or rear end to a wheeled truck, and the digging and spreading depth is determined by raising or lowering the other end with respect to a second truck. This is the first operating function.

In this present invention, the pivoting is at the rear end, and the raising and lowering takes place at the front end; but this is not essential.

The digging blade is carried rigid with the main frame, though this is not essential.

Adjacent the digging blade is pivoted a dirtextruding curved member, variously termed.

For conformity with the nomenclature of the Mork patent, it will here be called a bucket. Swinging this bucket upward to dump is the second function. Returning this bucket to loadcarrying position is the third function.

There is also a front closure, known as the apron. Opening this apron (when digging or dumping), and closing it again for carrying, i the fourth function.

Mork has two controls (ropes), one of which performs the first function (namely depth-control), and the other of which successively performs the fourth function (apron opening) and the second function (dumping). For the third function (bucket-return), Mork depends on a kick-back cam, actuated by the fall of theapron.

It is the principal object of my present invention to provide a new, simple and improved means for accomplishing the third function (bucket-return). g

A further object is to use the same means to also initiate the second function (bucket-dumping).

A further object is to p'rovide means for initiating the second and/or third operating functions of the scraper, said means being free from the danger of clogging with dirt and being adapted to simple operating adjustment and disassembly.

In addition to my principal objects, above stated, I have worked out a number of novel and useful details, which will be readily evident as the description progresses.

My invention consists in the novel parts and in the combination and arrangement thereof, which are defined in the appended claim, and of which three embodiments are exemplified in the accompanying drawings, which are hereinafter particularly described and explained.

Throughout the description, the same reference number is applied to the same member or to similar members.

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of my scraper in carrying position.

Figure 2 is a similar section of my scraper with apron alone in dumping position.

Figure 3 is a similar section of my scraper with bucket and apron in dumping position.

Figure 4 is a transverse section, taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 1, showing the first embodiment of the torque-rod assembly on my scraper bucket.

Figure 5 is a side elevation, taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 4, showing one end of the torque-rod assembly.

Figure 6 is a side elevation, taken along the line 6-6 of Figure 4, showing the other end of the torque-rod assembly.

Figure '7 is a transverse section, taken along the same line as Figure 4, showing the second embodiment of the torque-rod assembly.

Figure 8 is a side elevation, taken along the line 88 of Figure 7, showing one end of the torque-rod assembly.

Figure 9 is a side elevation, taken along the line 9-9 of Figure '7, showing the other end of the torque-rod assembly.

Figures 10, 11, and 12 are sections, taken along the lines I0Ill, lI-l I, and I2-l2 respectively of Figure 4.

Figurex13 is a transverse section, similar to Figures 4 and'7, showing the third embodiment of the torque-rod assembly.

Figure 14 is a side elevation, taken along the lineM-lfl'of Figure 13, showing one end of the torque-rod assembly.

Figure 15 is a side elevation, taken along the line I5l5 of Figure 13, showing the other end of the torque-rod assembly.

Figures 16, 1'7 and 18 are sections, taken along the lines l6'-l6, IL-l'l, and l8-I8 respectively of Figure 13.

Referring now to Figures 1 to 3 we see that the implement to which I have applied my invention, includes a forward truck 2|, and a rear truck 22, supported respectively on forward wheels 23 and rear wheels 24. The rear truck 22 is rigidly secured to two side plates 25, pref- 3 erably having substantially the outline indicated in the figures. In place of either such truck, we could support one end of the scraper on the propelling vehicle.

These parts constitute parts of the frame of the implement, and are connected together in such a way as to enable the scraper blade 26, which is located forward of the bucket 21, to be raised or lowered at will with respect to the ground level. In order to accomplish this, the forward truck 2| is preferably provided with rigid rearwardly projecting side arms 28 that extend rearwardly to a point about midway between the two trucks, at which point the arms 28 are connected by pivot bolts or pins 29 to the side plates.

Rigidly secured to the side plates 25, I provide a transverse lower beam 30, and an upper beam 3|, and to the forward end of side plates 25 I similarly secure transverse beam 32. The inclined scraper blade 26 is preferably rigidly secured to the side plates 25, and cuts into the earth when the bucket 21 is being filled. Adjacent the blade 26 and preferably at its rear edge, the bucket 21 is pivotally and resiliently mounted on a transverse torque-rod 33, more particularly described hereinafter.

When the bucket 21 is in the position of rest,

as indicated in Figure 1, the stop-bracket 34,

carried by the rear face of the bucket, rests against a bumper or bumpers 35 on the top of lower beam 30, and this limits the downward movement of the bucket.

During the scraping operation the blade 26 is held at a low level so as to engage the dirt to be picked up, and the dirt passes over the blade into-the bucket. As this takes place, an apron 31 at the forward end of the bucket is held in an elevated position: that is to say, in a partially open position so that as the dirt passes up between the lower edge 38 of the apron 31 and the blade 26, the dirt piling up in the bucket 21 can gravitate into the apron, after which the apron 31 can be moved to a closed position so as to retain the load. The apron is pivotally supported on side plates 25 by pivot pins 39. The load-retaining position is shown in Figure 1.

The reeving of the two control ropes, will now be described.

Cable 40 controls the first listed function, namely depth control, asin Mork. It passes, from a winch (not shown) under one fairlead sheaves 4|, over one of sheaves 42, and thence around several sheaves 43 on forward truck 2| and sheaves 44 on beam 32. finally being anchored to either.

Rope 49 controls the second listed function, namely dumping, and the fourth listed function, namely apron-opening, as in Mork. It passes, from the winch, under one of fairlead sheaves 4 I, over one of sheaves 42, over one of the sheaves 45, and thence one or more times around sheaves 46 on the apron 31 and sheaves 45, thence around one of the sheaves 41 on bucket 21, and back to an anchorage adjacent sheaves 45.

Drawing-in on this rope 49 first draws sheaves 46 and sheave 45 together, thus raising and dumping the contents of the apron 31. Further drawing-in of this rope 49 then draws sheaves 41 and sheaves 45 together, thus pulling the bucket 2'! forward to dump its contents.

Turning now to the subject matter of my invention, we see that in the first embodiment, represented more particularly by Figures 4 to 6 inclusive, the lower transverse edge of bucket 21 .4 is welded to a tubular sleeve 50 which nests in lip-casting 5| just behind blade 26 and is keyed (see Figure 12) by means of its integral hub 52 to the corresponding end of preferably hexagonal torque-rod 33. Extension 53 of this end of torquerod 33 is supported by means of bearing ring 54 so as to pivot freely in the adjacent one of side plates 25, and removable cover plate 55 which is bolted to the outside of the side plate serves as a retainer for the free-floating torque-rod 33 and protects the moving parts from dirt during operation as well as providing access to them for disassembly, repair, etc. The other end of torquerod 33 is keyed (see Figure 10) to a hub 56 which is pivotally supported in the other side plate 25 of the scraper. This hub 56 has a flange 51 which covers the pivot opening in the side plate on the outside. Locking lever 58 rigid with hub 56 extends upwardly outside side plate 25 and is free to rotate clockwise (see Figure 5) with the torque-rod 33 until it contacts stop 59 welded on the outside of side plate 25. Thereafter that end of torque-rod 33 is locked against further clockwise rotation. Thereafter the dumping of the bucket twists the other end 53 of the rod still further in the same direction, thereby setting up a resisting torque in torque-rod 33 which tends to return the bucket from its nearly stalled full dumping position (Figure 3) back to working or carry" position. Cover plate 60, bolted over stop 59 and filler block 6|, covers part of locking lever 58 and thereby acts as a retainer to prevent torque-rod 33 from sliding out of hub 52 and side plates 25. Since cover plate 60 is removably bolted in place, disassembly of the torque-rod and its parts is easy.

Some of the advantages of the above-described torque-rod assembly for bowl-retum are that:

(1) The torque-rod is entirely enclosed and the other parts of the assembly are not subject to clogging with dirt.

(2) The assembly is easily dismantled for repairs, adjustments, and maintenance.

(3) The amount of torque produced by a given rod and the portion of the dumping cycle over which it is applied can be adjusted or varied by altering the free-travel" setting of the looking lever on the rod. Thus, where the length of the rod is determined by the width of the scraper and the cross-section of the rod is determined by the strength required to function as the bucket pivot bar, and accordingly the torque produced by twisting the rod through the entire dumping cycle is excessive, that excessive torque can be reduced by simply increasing the angle of free travel without introducing more complicated or unsuitable structure to accomplish the desired result.

Turning now to the second embodiment of my invention as represented more particularly by Figures 7 to 9 inclusive, we see that this is similar to my first embodiment except that the locking lever 58' is now bolted in place to the side plate by bolt 6|, so that initially, when the bucket is in carry position (see Figures 1 and 8), the torque-rod 33 is given a reverse twist by the lever 53', through angle A clockwise (i. e. in the direction of dump) and therefore it tends to assist in starting the bucket from carry position to dump and to cushion its return from dumping position to carry position. After the bucket has passed through the angle of initial reverse twist A (about 12 degrees as shown in Figure 8, although this will vary depending upon the operating characteristics desired and the physical dimensions and characteristics of the torque-rod) the torquerod passes through its neutral untwisted position and thereafter is twisted in the opposite direction so that it tends to force the bucket to return to carry position, just as in my first embodiment.

To eliminate any hazard in disassembly due to the fact that the torque-rod is stressed when the bowl is lowered in carry position and would cause the lever 58' to snap out of position if suddenly released, bolt BI is made long enough tohold lever 58' until its retaining nut has been unscrewed a sufficient distance to permit the'torquerod to become entirely untwisted.

Turning now to the third embodiment of my invention as shown in Figures 13 to 18 inclusive, it is se-enthat here I have eliminated entirely the locking lever of my first two emobidments and use an effectively longer torque-rod by connecting a rod in series with and nested in a tube. Referring specifically to Figure 13, We see that, as in my first embodiment the lower edge of bucket 21 is welded to a tubular sleeve which nests in lip-casting H behind blade 26, but this sleeve is now keyed inside preferably at or near its center to one end of torque-tube 33' the other end of which is in turn keyed by hub 12 to one end of torque-rod 33. As before, extension 13 of this end of torque-rod 33 is pivotally supported by bearing ring 14 to rotate freely in adjacent side plate 25, this pivot being enclosed by the retainer and coverplate 15 on the outside of said side plate 25. The other. end of the torque-rod 33 is keyed to and retained by hub 16 which is bolted to the other side plate of the scraper.

Having now described and illustrated three forms of my invention, I wish it to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangement of parts herein described and shown.

It will be noted that, as a preferred construction, I have shown my bucket sleeve connected or keyed directly to my torque-rod, which is preferably located so as to turn about the same axis as the bucket. However, when, in my claim, I use the word connected or keyed or some similar phrase with reference to either end of the torque-rod, I intend thereby to cover an indirect connection as well as a direct connection; and when I use the word adjacent in referring to the relativelocation of two axes or parts, I

intend to cover exact coincidences as well as proximity of such axes or parts. Thus it is evident that I could alternatively pivot my torque-rod and bucket about different axes and connect them indirectly by suitable means without departing from my invention. Furthermore, when, in my claim, I use the expression torque-rod, I intend to cover thereby not only a solid rod, but also a hollow rod or tube, a portion of a solid or hollow rod or tube, a rod that is in part hollow and in part solid, a longitudinally sectionalized rod or tube, a rod in which one portion is nested within another hollow portion, or other similarly equivalent types of torque-rod, and I intend to cover thereby such a rod mounted eccentrically with respect to the axis of twist as well as on such axis.

I claim:

A carry-type. earth-moving scraper, having ground supports, a digging blade capable of being raised and lowered with respect to the ground, means for raising and lowering the blade, main dirt-containing means, a dumping-bowl pivoted on a transverse pivot adjacent the blade, and means to tilt this bowl forwardly to dump; characterized by the bowl having a transverse closed tubular sleeve at the bowls pivot axis, and by there being within the sleeve a torsion element extending lengthwise of the sleeve, and into bearings in the main dirt-containing means at at least one end of the sleeve, said torsion element having at one end thereof means, irrotatably secured to the torsion element and to the main dirt-containing means, for constraining the twisting of that end of the torsion element with respect to the main dirt-containing means, and having at its other end means, irrotatably secured to the torsion element and to the bowl, for constraining the twisting of that end of the torsion element with respect to the bowl, whereby the tilting of the bowl to its full dumping position builds up in the torsion element potential energy which tends to initiate the return of the bowl to its rearmost (i. e. loading) position; the two constraining means being so contrived and relatively positioned as to put a reverse torque into the torsion element when the bowl is in its rearmost position, whereby the torsion element tendsto initiate a forward tilting of the bowl from its rearmost position; one of the constraining means being adjustable.

KARL E. REISCHL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 1

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